News, Notes and Highlighted Games for Sunday, 2/11

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Boston College is on top of the ACC standings, but the toughest part of their schedule is in front of them. Florida State has been playing excellent basketball lately despite their loss at Clemson the other night. They wont be easy to beat at home. FSU is just 5-5 in league play and probably needs this one a little more, but both look to be solid NCAA teams right now.

-CONNECTICUT AT GEORGIA TECH. Georgia Tech has struggled and really needs to win this one. They need conference wins more than anything, but theyre a team whose resume is slipping and they need to turn things around. They have won their last two games, but they need to keep that momentum up and take care of business at home against a Connecticut team who is struggling just to make the Big East Conference Tournament.

-DUKE AT MARYLAND (ACC). This is one of the most intense rivalries in the conference, and the Maryland fans will really be up for this one. Maryland has struggled lately having lost five of their last seven, and is dangerously close to the bubble. They need a few big wins to turn their season around and make themselves a solid NCAA Tournament team. Duke is also on the decline. Theyve lost three in a row and are in trouble in this one given that they are playing against a Maryland team that always brings its best game when playing Duke. The thing about Duke is that none of their losses are bad, and theyve played well enough to win nearly every game they have lost, so theyre probably better off than most people are making them out to be. They also have some pretty good wins this year as well. Still, it isnt often we see Duke lose four in a row, which is what their streak will be at if they dont get it done today.

-SAINT JOHNS AT SYRACUSE (Big East). Saint Johns won the first meeting between these two and has played pretty well lately winning four of their last six. They arent an NCAA Tourney team, but theyre beginning to turn their program back around. Syracuse has lost four of their last five. They have a huge quality win at Pittsburgh, which is one of the best road wins for anyone all season long, but that wont be enough to get them to the dance if they cant pull out of this slump and string together some wins. Theyre coming off a rather unexpected loss to Syracuse, but have a winnable game at home today that they must win. Their next two games are at South Florida and at home against Connecticut. They really need to win all three of these in order to stabilize themselves.

-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON (Pac Ten). Stanford is coming off a rather unimpressive offensive showing in a loss to Washington State, but all and all theyre still having a big season. Washington has been playing very well at home lately and although theyre still way outside being considered for a bid, they are getting better and could be a dangerous team between now and the end. Stanford needs to win in order to sustain what is a solid NCAA Tournament resume for them. This would be a nice conference road win for them.

-ILLINOIS STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita State has won four of their last five, and all of their remaining games are winnable. They most likely need to win them all in order to get back into being seriously considered for an at-large bid.

NEWS AND NOTES

-The new bracket projections will be posted sometime either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Be sure to check those out.

Drew Barnette runs down one of the biggest Saturdays of the college basketball regular season. With the Bracket Buster teams being played today, read about who is on the bubble and could really improve their NCAA Tournament resumes with quality wins today. Also read about teams who are favored to win their conference tournaments, and who are facing each other in games that will have an impact on their seeding, and possibly put them in a better position to pull a big upset.

Other big games include Louisville looking for their second big road win in a row as they travel to Marquette, Vanderbilt plays one of their biggest home games of the year as they host Floirda, Georgetown and Villanova Square off in an important Big East showdown,

Drew Barnette gives his thoughts and opinions about the upcoming Bracket Buster, talks about how he feels mid-majors are viewed by the media today, looks at tonight's big game between Winthrop and Missouri State, and more...